We have been watching an excellent program on BBC 2 called The Choir, where Gareth Malone, the Choir Master of a large well known orchestra, The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) goes to schools and in the last program to a community and encourages people to join the choir.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Malone
http://www.garethmalone.com/
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sing/choir/images/gareth_malone.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sing/choir/gareth.shtml&usg=__ixqZC-TXZ3xvSltccLpwl_WNg5U=&h=288&w=512&sz=142&hl=nl&start=4&um=1&tbnid=nZM8b-mWncrUoM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bchoir%2Bgareth%2Bmalone%26hl%3Dnl%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
In the first program he transformed the kids from bored kids, who did not have anyway to express themselves into a choir.
It was beautiful to see the kids blossom and show the potential they had, that only needed to be encouraged and presented well.
The knock on effect was that kids became confident to apply for courses and jobs that they would not have done prior to joining the choir.
They even went out to the 2006 International Choir Competition in China, they did well, even just being there as they were just formed.
All the kids were so proud that they had got so far and went on to bigger and better things, most were still singing in choirs
.
The last program was in an unattractive town called South Oxhey, which was basically one huge housing estate and an ugly town centre shopping street.
They were next door to Rickmansworth, a more attractive, very middle class town, one with wood beams and ye old tea shoppes and people, who seemed to look down on their working class neighbours with contempt.
At first no one was interested, then he got some people and the rest followed, he went around town to everywhere there were people.
He went to schools, social clubs, boxing club, cafes and bars and the shops, karaoke evenings everyone was charmed by him and the first session he had 200 people turn up.
Gareth Malone is a very nice man and he went out and befriended this charmless place and the people loved it and you could see the feeling was mutual.
They became good choirs, he had two choirs, the Youth Choir and the Community Choir including the young men and the whole town turned out to see their first performance in the summer in the park.
There were people there at the concert, from neighbouring Rickmansworth who were full of surprised praise for the choir, they were impressed, that they had been so good.
When Gareth had visited Rickmansworth to invite people to0 South Oxhey, they could hardly believe that trhe people there could talk let alone sing.
After the performance in the park, the community spirit was alive and well and people were proud to be from the town, many who had been feeling isolated and lonely were now very obviously part of the community.
The Choirs were a source of pride to the community and this was lovely to see and was quite a transformation.
The choir was a source of great pride to everyone from South Oxhey, and at the end of the program Gareth Malone announced he would carry on being the Choir Master of the Community Choir and the Youth Choir.
An inspirational program, am now totally in favour of singing in groups, in choirs now I have seen how good it is for people to sing together.
Happy singing.
